WHEN DOES ETERNAL LIFE START?

11/16/12




I’ve noticed that, over the last twenty years or so, obituaries and the prayer cards we get at wakes have changed. In the past, they contained two dates, labeled “Born” and “Died.” For example:



John Jones



Born: March 10, 1913



Died May 15, 1985



Now the same two dates are in included, but one of the headings has changed from “Died” to “Born into eternal life” or similar words. For example



Jane Smith



Born: March 10, 1923



Born into eternal life: May 15, 2005

The sentiment is a beautiful one; after all, as Christians, we believe that natural death does not end our lives but merely marks a transition into our eternal life with Jesus. So the new language is a more accurate, and certainly more comforting, description of what has happened to the person whose passing we are observing.



And yet the words “born into eternal life” miss something fundamental about Christ’s message. They seem to adhere to the old notion that “all” Jesus is offering us is eternal joy in heaven and that our life on this earth is a mere period of preparation for that eternity and, indeed, can, and some think should, be a time of trial, a valley of tears, if you will, to be endured while awaiting eternal life.



But what Jesus offers us is an eternal life of joy with Him beginning not when we pass from this mortal coil but beginning, if not before, NOW. Eternal life does not start when we pass; eternal life begins when we are conceived. This life is not a time of misery and trial but the first stage of a life of joy in and service to Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters of all faiths.



Most of us, certainly including yours truly, don’t live our lives entirely in the joy of Jesus Christ, and understandably so. Life, even for those of us with what are now called first world problems, is full of challenges, trials, and worse. As a good friend of mine, and a very good Christian, who is situated much like my wife and me, said at a lunch we recently shared “Life is one big ball of worry.” Those who know me know that I share much of that sentiment and I worry far too much. And much of the world lives in situations that are far more deprived, and with many more sources of worry, than we do.



To the extent that we give into worry and the cares of the world, though, we are refusing to accept the message of our Savior, who, after all said, in a passage that grates on many people, including yours truly (Matthew 6, 31-34):



“So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”



And again, in a less grating passage (Matthew, 11, 28-30):



“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”



Again, I am among the world’s worst violators of Jesus’ admonition not to give into worry and to accept His message of joy and hope in this world; like many people, but probably to a greater extent, I tend to stew in the negative and focus on what could go wrong. The good news is that Jesus is very forgiving. The better news is that, if we truly accept what we profess to believe, eternal life starts NOW, if we haven’t let it start already. This life is not the gauntlet we must endure, the valley of tears we must traverse, to get to the good stuff. If we truly accept the gift of life God offers us, this life on earth can be one of joy and fulfillment…and the transition to the next phase of our eternal lives will be that much easier.



But, ironically, it’s hard…very hard…to accept the message that life here can be, indeed is intended to be, a life of joy and fulfillment. (Much of that is because we seek joy and fulfillment in the wrong things, but that is grist for another mill.) And most of us have, in relative terms, very nice lives. How hard must it be for those for whom life presents challenges we can’t even imagine?



But God is forgiving and, unlike us, does not get frustrated or discouraged. He just continues to offer us eternal life, beginning NOW, and waits patiently for us to accept it. He’ll wait until we join Him in heaven for us to accept it, but He wishes we wouldn’t wait that long.